Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem-Solving Approach » (New Edition)

Ross W. Greene, PhD, is Director of the Collaborative Problem Solving Institute in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, Codirector of the Center for Collaborative Problem Solving, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. In addition to providing outpatient care, he consults to schools, inpatient units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities. Dr. Greene's research focuses on the classification and treatment of explosive children, long-term outcomes in socially impaired children with ADHD, and the impact of teacher characteristics on school outcome for elementary school students with ADHD. He has written extensively on behavioral assessment and social functioning, school- and home-based interventions for children with disruptive behavior disorders, and student–teacher compatibility. Previously, Dr. Greene served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at Virginia Tech and as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

J. Stuart Ablon, PhD, is Associate Director of the Collaborative Problem Solving Institute, Codirector of the Center for Collaborative Problem Solving, and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He specializes in the treatment of explosive, inflexible, easily frustrated children and adolescents and their families. Like Dr. Greene, Dr. Ablon consults extensively to schools, inpatient units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities. He has authored numerous articles, chapters, and scientific papers on behavioral assessment and psychosocial interventions for children with disruptive behavior disorders. Dr. Ablon's research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Psychological Association, the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Institute, and the Endowment for the Advancement of Psychotherapy.

The first comprehensive presentation for clinicians of the groundbreaking approach popularized in Ross Greene's acclaimed parenting guide, The Explosive Child, this book provides a detailed framework for effective, individualized intervention with highly oppositional children and their families. Many vivid examples and Q&A sections show how to identify the specific cognitive factors that contribute to explosive and noncompliant behavior, remediate these factors, and teach children and their adult caregivers how to solve problems collaboratively. The book also describes challenges that may arise in implementing the model and provides clear and practical solutions. Two special chapters focus on intervention in schools and in therapeutic/restrictive facilities.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Susan Richardson, MA, PsyD(Private Practice)
Description:This is a casebook for therapists working with children and families. The authors present a family-centered approach to working with children and adolescents who are prone to explosive outbursts.
Purpose:The authors state that the premise of their book is that children and adolescents with explosive episodes are lacking cognitive skills in the domains of frustration tolerance, problem solving and/or adaptability. Parents who are able to view the difficulties in this paradigm, rather than viewing the behavior as willful and intentional, are better able to communicate with their children and help build these skills, minimizing these outbursts.
Audience:This book is written for clinicians who work with children and adolescents and their families. The authors provide many detailed and informative examples for the clinician, ably demonstrating their experience and mastery of the area.
Features:The book describes the collaborative problem-solving approach to dealing with children and adolescents with explosive outbursts. The authors define the cognitive deficits that lead up to these affective explosions then teach the clinician to help parents and the kids identify likely triggers. The problem-solving approach involves mutual empathy, respect, and joint concerns, intentionally avoiding solutions that only focus on the adult or the child's concerns.
Assessment:This is sure to be of great use to any clinician looking for tools in working with children and families. The authors are very specific and clear in helping clinicians teach improved communication and a more useful paradigm for viewing problematic behavior.

1. Explosive Children and Adolescents: The Need for a Different Paradigm
2. Identifying Pathways and Triggers
3. Options for Handling Problems: Three Plans
4. Plan B Basics
5. Beyond the Basics
6. Skills Trained with Plan B
7. Collaborative Problem Solving in Schools
8. Collaborative Problem Solving in Therapeutic/Restrictive Settings
9. Last Call
10. Epilogue: Beyond Explosive Kids